Intolerable Cruelty
by Sezbunny
Summary: RxC OOC slightly AU. Chrno and Rosette get sent on a mission to investigate a small town that's been experience irregular Astral flares. The catch being they have to go undercover as a couple, can they pull it off? rating may change.Chapter 3 up
1. A new Mission

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the Chrno Crusade crew (as much as I'd like to!) all property of Daisuke Moriyama.

AN: This fic is a RxC AU and a fair bit OOC but for better understanding of things mentioned it takes place while they are still in New York. So before Rosette embarks on her mission to find Joshua in San Francisco. And I'm using the manga for reference. Oh and a warning that in a future chapter(s) there will be a lime (possibly a lemon but I don't know how much you can get away with here at XD )

'Blah blah blah.' normal speech.  
'_Blah blah blah_.' characters thoughts

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**Intolerable Cruelty**

**Chapter 1 - A New Mission**

Chrno watched the sleeping form from his position on the windowsill in deep thought. The steady rise and fall of her chest and occasional snort was somehow calming. This was the third time this week where he'd felt compelled to visit his contractor in the middle of the night.

Lately he'd found it harder and harder to get her out of his thoughts, her perfect blue eyes, her pink lips and the porcelain like skin of her exposed throat and collarbone..

Chrno shook his head as his thoughts started to wander into dangerous territory. As of the past couple of months he'd begun to notice things about his contractor that he'd never noticed before, things like how flawless her skin is, or how the fabric of her militia outfit clung to her body in certain areas.

He was certain that nothing had changed, that she was still the same Rosette he had known for four years but as of a few months ago he'd started to see Rosette in whole new light. She was no longer a little girl to him anymore, but a young woman, a very beautiful young woman.

Chrno sighed; it was already three in the morning, which meant he'd been sitting at the window for almost two and a half hours now, just staring at her.

'_Why do I keep coming here? If she were to wake up and see me.._'

Chrno grimaced at the thought; Rosette had no inhibitions when it came to beating the tar out of perverts.' _Not that I'm sicko or anything, but I can just imagine how she'd view the whole situation_.'

"_I'm sorry Rosette I was just watching you sleep for a few hours like I have been most nights lately, nothing inappropriate of course!_"

The words sounded stupid in his head and he could only imagine how pathetic they'd be if he actually had to use them. '_Nothing inappropriate, not a single dirty thought in my head_.'

'_What a lie_.' He snorted, a slight blush on his cheeks as he remembered two nights ago when Rosettes nightgown had managed to hitch itself up to her waist when she'd rolled over in bed.

'_I really am dead meat if she catches me_' Chrno winced, realizing it was high time he left and went to bed himself. 'It isn't so bad after all.' he thought to himself, he'd be able to spend time with her tomorrow, his beautiful contractor.

Giving one final longing look at her peaceful form he leapt from the sill landing softly on the grass. His form fading into the night as he lightly jogged off towards the Elders workshop.

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'You gonna eat that?' came a voice as a slightly bent fork poked around in chrno's breakfast. Chrno sighed not looking up from his plate 'nope all yours.' Rosette was her normal self as usual; blissfully unaware of the tri weekly moonlit visits her partner was paying her.

'y'know, I have been having the strangest dreams lately!' Rosette mumbled with a mouthful of Chrno's toast. 'I get the oddest feeling that I'm being watched sometimes at night!' Chrno swallowed hard, careful not to show shock or surprise.

'I wonder if that damn perverted old man has anything to do with it.' She said thoughtfully. The elder was infamous for his panty stealing antics, having had more than his fair share of broken bones and concussions from run-ins with Rosette.

'Ha really? I'm sure its nothing.' Chrno said reassuringly eyes still trained to his plate, hoping the warmth in his face wasn't showing too obviously.

'You should probably close your window at night if it really worries you-' the words fell out of his mouth before he'd even had time to think it through.

Rosette's head snapped to attention, gripping her fork tightly 'how do you know about my window being left open?' an angry vein started to pulse on her forehead. 'You've been peeping on me too haven't you?' Rosette spat out grabbing Chrno's collar and yanking him close to her, the fork shoved dangerously close to his unprotected throat.

'Uh n-no that's not w-what I meant.' Chrno stammered, knowing all to well he could be in for an early visit to the infirmary. 'w-what I m-mean is, w-well I didn't m-mean anything a-at all.' Chrno winced waiting for the beating from his contractor, but it never came.

'Relax Chrno, I'm just joshing you' Chrno opened one eye to reveal his Contractor grinning at him 'I think you said the same thing last week.' The grip on his collar releasing, he settled down back into his seat.

'I'm probably just imagining things again, like usual you could say!' rosette winked at him, Chrno's heart missed a beat '_How does she do that?_' he thought to himself, his breath almost catching in his throat.

Whenever rosette smiled at him he felt his stomach tighten and his heart rate quicken, he always felt like he'd run a mile after one of her smiles. Chrno felt his cheeks warm trying hard not to focus on how sweet and inviting her lips looked.

'_Time to go_' he warned himself, standing quickly 'Well I think elder wants me to help him with some things today so I'll see you around lunch time, bye!' he said more quickly than he'd intended. Raking a hand through his purple tresses in attempt to look calm, he nearly tripped trying to get away from the table.

_'You are an idiot'_ he berated himself, sure that the giggles he could hear were directed at him. '_Why do I always have to goof up in front of her_?' he thought as the lunch hall doors closed behind him. '_Just once I'd like to not make a fool of myself_!' And with that he stomped off to Elders hut, dimly aware he wasn't really needed by Elder, he just wanted some time to 'cool down' on his own.

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'Geez what's his problem?' Rosette asked aloud staring at the doors the demon had just fled through. 'He's been acting all strange lately.'

'Some might say he's been bitten by the "bug".' Said a voice as a hand lightly patted her shoulder. Rosette spun around to see the red headed Anna staring down at her with a sweet smile, her fellow sisters Mary and Claire with equally sugary grins.

'What do you mean 'bitten by the "bug"'?' Rosette asked, annoyance creeping into her voice, she didn't like how smug the three of them looked. Like children who had just found their birthday presents hidden in the linen closet.

'You know, the "love" bug!' squeaked Mary with excitement. Rosettes annoyance crept into her face, a small vein starting to throb on her temple '_Oh great the three town gossips, wonder what fib they'll be coming up with now_' Rosette was very aware of how easily things got out of hand when the three nuns next to her got a hold of a snippet of gossip.

'I don't know what you're talking about, more rubbish I presume!' Rosette snorted, dropping her fork to her plate with a clatter. 'I have better things to do than listen to your coma inducing drivel' she snapped, moving to get up. a pairs of hands firmly pushed her back down into her seat.

'Rosette, don't be so quick to judge!' Anna beamed, taking delight in the annoyed look on her fellow nuns face. 'What we're saying is, Chrno's got a bit of a sweet spot for you' Rosette sighed '_They're baiting me I know it_' She thought gloomily.

'Well, I'm sure that's great' she said, shrugging out of Anna's grip ' Pull the other one' Rosette deadpanned picking up her plate, she turned to the three nuns 'I'm not going to bite today, I know what you're about'

This only seemed to make Anna and Mary grin even more, Claire's smile remained the same 'don't they have anything better to do?' Rosette thought inwardly. ' You don't have to believe us if you don't want to' Anna simpered 'but you're the only one who hasn't seemed to notice' Mary next to her nodded vigorously in agreement.

'_These guys don't give up_' Rosette sighed, getting out of her seat. 'Okay that's nice, I'm going to go now and do some work, y'know instead of running around spreading gossip about people!'

Rosette stormed off leaving the three nuns looking quite pleased with themselves, half throwing her plate onto the dirty washing pile. Rosette was not in a good mood; having Chrno acting all weird towards her and those three witches on her heels was more than she could handle.

'_All I need now is that old hag Sister Kate to yell at me for something_' she thought savagely, pushing through the doors of the eating hall.

'Sister Rosette!' the call of her name brought her out of her seething for a moment. A young nun came running up to her '_Oh great now what_' she groaned, the nun stopped a few feet from her, her cheeks pink from running.

'Sister Rosette!' she panted 'Sister Kate wants to see you right away!' the young girl leaning against one of the buttresses along the hallway, fanning her face with her hand.

'Oh fine I'll go see that old hag!' rosette spat, muttering curses as she stormed past the small and now quite frightened nun.

'_My day is getting better by the minute_.' she thought sourly as she made her way to Sister Kate's office.

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Sister Kate didn't look up from her oak desk as she heard a light rapping on the door of her office. 'Come In' she called, tidying up a few loose papers before finally looking up.

Rosette Christopher's head poked in the half opened door. 'You wanted to see me Sister Kate?'

'Ah yes, come in Rosette' The abbess gestured to the space in front of her desk. Pulling out cream manila folder as Rosette walked into the office, stopping a few feet from her desk.

'This is your newest mission' Sister Kate handed her the folder, re-adjusting the thin-rimmed glasses on her nose.

Rosette opened the folder and flicked through some of the documentation 'so what's this about exactly?' Rosettes mood had somewhat settled and curiosity now took its place 'I presume a demon or something is behind this case or we wouldn't be dealing with it'

'To be frank we don't actually know what exactly is behind this particular case.' Sister Kate went through her own copy of the case ' The report says that a small town to the south of here is experiencing irregular surges of Astral'

Sister Kate was interrupted as a small knock was heard from the office door. 'Oh good that should be him' she looked back at her papers. 'come in' she called.

Rosette looked quizzically at Sister Kate then at the door 'him?' she thought. Rosette looked surprised as Chrno stepped through the door timidly. Just as she was about to ask her partner what he was doing here the Abbess cut her off, gesturing for Chrno to stand next to Rosette.

'Good you're both here now' Sister Kate handed Chrno a similar manila folder to the one Rosette was holding. 'As I was just saying to Sister Rosette here, this case is a mystery to us, all we know is that the town is having strange surges of Astral'

Chrno skimmed through his folder, reading the first few lines of the report '_I wonder what this is about_' none of the names or places stuck out in his mind.

'This is not something we'd normally look into only that the Astral is having unusual effects on the townsfolk.' Sister Kate finished, looking the two exorcists over her eyes lingering over the demon before continuing.

'We need you two to investigate the town and see what you can dig up' she finished, sliding the papers back into the folder.

'Uh- so what's the effect on the townsfolk?' Rosette asked, not really wanting to read through the fifteen-page report she held in her hand. 'How boring it doesn't even have any pictures!' she thought dully

Sister Kate twitched slightly ' Maybe you should read the report Rosette and you might not need to ask!' Chrno flinched slightly at the annoyance in the Abbess's voice.

The Abbess took a deep breath, calming her nerves. If there was one thing Rosette did better than any other person in the whole world it was make her lose her temper, just thinking of all the property she'd destroyed in the past made her want to strangle the girl right then and there.

'Seeing as if I don't tell you now, chances are you'll not read the report properly and miss out on important details-'

'We're going under cover?' Chrno's question cut the Abbess off mid sentence. His crimson eyes widened visibly as he read over the details of the new mission. A vein started to throb under the Abbess's habit 'Yes I was just about to get to that part-'

'Wow I can't wait I get to wear something other than this boring uniform!' Rosette hadn't been able to hide her enthusiasm and had burst out cutting Sister Kate off quite rudely. 'Finally something exciting!' no sooner had the words left Rosettes mouth Sister Kate had flung a very full bottle of ink at her.

The ink exploded all down the front of her Militia outfit, silencing Rosette very quickly.

'No one breathes another word!' Sister Kate yelled gripping the desk so hard her knuckles were white. ' You are going to this town undercover, furthermore you shall be going under the guise of a couple!' she took another deep breath trying to maintain control for just a little bit longer. Rosette was about to spit out a complaint but thought better of it.

' You will be stationed there for a week, longer if required but mark my words Sister Rosette if you mess this up or destroy anything, I will ban you from fieldwork for a year!'

Sister Kate's steely glare kept both Chrno and Rosette from so much as blinking. Rosette was dripping from head to toe in black ink and was Chrno standing as still as a statue.

'Do I make myself clear?' Both managed a nod as best they could, afraid the Abbess would throw more than just an inkbottle if they dared interrupt her.

Sister Kate sat down in her seat again, ' You are both dismissed.' Her demeanour somewhat calmed down. 'Father Remington will brief you further on the details of this mission as well as help provide you with your equipment for the duration of it.'

'You will be leaving tomorrow morning 8am, so make sure you're are prepared and ready. '

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'_Did she say what I thought she said?_' Chrno quickly flicked through his manila folder, looking for a scrap of evidence to back up what he had heard back in Sister Kate's office.

Sure enough in plain English was the description of their mission, they were to go to this small town, pretending to be a couple, this included sharing a room at a small bed and breakfast. The colour seemed to drain from his face as he read over the words again, trying to make sure he had read them properly.

'_oh no_' he thought, only too aware that part of him was ecstatic about the whole thing.

Not more than a few feet from the Demon, Rosette had an expression of pure mortification on her face.

This was going to be interesting.

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To Be Continued…

This is one really REALLY long first chapter…its amazing how much i can ramble. Hopefully its not too boring, I had to lay the foundations and all that stuff. You know how it is.

I had some confusion regarding the three nuns so I apologise if I got them mixed up. And Chrno and Rosette were very OOC, well mostly Chrno with those dirty thoughts he's havin (hehehe)

I hope you liked it, please review if you have the time, constructive criticism is very welcome, being that this is my first Chrno Crusade fic and all.

See you again in chapter 2!


	2. The Odd Couple

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything even remotely related to Chrno Crusade, All characters property of Daisuke Moriyama

AN/ Its finally arrived, chapter 2. I know I took a while to get this completed but I'm not one to try and get chapters out as fast as I can type them. Quality not quantity, plus I'm not much into filler chapters so you can expect each update to be a nice fat juicy chapter. I want to thank all the kind people who left reviews for Chapter 1, thank you so much for you kind words it really helped motivate me to get this chapter completed.

Once again, this is a Chrno x Rosette AU piece with a dab (or bucket load) of OOC behaviour.

'Blah blah blah.' – Normal Speech

'_Blah blah blah._' – Thoughts

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Intolerable Cruelty Chapter 2 – The Odd Couple 

'I can't believe this y'know.' Rosette huffed ' How are we suppose to pass as a couple when you look like a twelve year old!' she snarled swerving the car, narrowly avoiding veering off onto the other side of the road. An audible groan could be heard from her purple haired passenger.

'_I'm going to die'_ Chrno thought pessimistically, after being in a car with Rosette driving he'd realised how precious life really was. '_Not much longer, another half an hour and I'll be safe.'_ Rosette's driving on a good day was atrocious, but when she was in a bad mood it was down right suicidal. Like right now for example, he feared for his very life, fingers gripping the seat so tight his knuckles were white.

'Hello, this is my darling Chrno, he may look like a young child but really he's older than pretty much everyone here!' Rosette continued her ranting, not really caring if the demon sitting next to her was listening or not. ' I'm going to look like some sort of pedophile!' Rosette gestured wildly, taking her hands off the steering wheel to Chrno's absolute horror. Her companion lunging to grab the wheel as the car started to veer off again.

'Rosette!' Chrno cried 'Please just concentrate on driving, I'm not ready to die yet!' Rosette didn't seem to have noticed that she'd let go of the steering wheel, or that Chrno had practically leaped across her to grab it. A blush forming on her cheeks as she realised her partner was pressed up against her almost lying across her lap.

Around the same time Chrno himself had realised his position on Rosettes lap, his face heated from the close contact. '_Oh no' _he grimaced, waiting for the inevitable. 'Chrno you little pervert!'

Chrno nursed a bruised cheek as Rosette was once again focused on the road. '_Why does she have to hit so hard?_' he thought sourly. Though deep down the other part of him had decided the lap incident had been worth it, it wasn't very often he got to be so close to his contractor.

He shook his head deciding to keep those _other_ thoughts he was having at bay by going over the current mission. He reached over the back seat pulling out his manila folder with the mission documents tucked inside.

'So we're lodging at a bed and breakfast place called "The Autumn Leaf" right?' Chrno asked not looking up from the folder. 'Yeah, it's suppose to be easy enough to find, we aren't too far now, next exit I think.' Rosette said taking one hand off the wheel and pulling a folded piece of paper out of her skirt pocket. 'Here are the directions we got from Father Remington' Rosette handed Chrno the small folded piece of paper, both hands back on the wheel again.

Chrno unfolded the paper quickly glancing at it before going back to reading more on the small town they were to be arriving at shortly. Clearing his throat he read '" The town of Glenore is known for their festive celebrations, holding between eight to ten different festivals per year, the townsfolk are known for their friendly nature welcoming most travellers." He paused " Virtually self sustained the town's biggest income is derived from the deep shaft mines located approximately three miles south of the town itself."

'Riveting stuff really" Rosette mumbled, stealing a quick look at the manila folder in Chrno's lap. 'You'd think the Order could have given us some useful information, not tourist book stuff'

Chrno ignored Rosette and read on "The town is also closely situated to an extensive Cave system, a sub terrain river system runs through the caves suppling the town with its fresh water"

Chrno read over the last part again, sliding the papers back into the folder. 'Maybe the caves would be a good place to check first, there could be some sort artefact or spell causing the high levels of Astral in the area.' Curious as he was about the whole thing, Chrno couldn't help but feel slightly giddy over the whole mission.

Rosette and himself had been told that it was imperative that they appear to be a completely normal couple. Father Remington had briefed them that they were expected to hold hands, hug, do whatever it took to make the façade as plausible as possible.

"_Do whatever necessary to make it believable understand?"_

Chrno felt his cheeks redden at the implications of Father Remington's words. Remembering how awkward the whole meet had been, Rosette had had a look of pure disbelief throughout the whole briefing. She'd spluttered and stammered but no coherent objections had come out of her mouth. Chrno on the other hand had remained utterly silent keeping his eyes trained on the floor a few feet from where Father Remington stood.

'_And the look on his face!'_ Chrno could clearly picture the expression on Father Remington's face, it was like he took pleasure in watching them both squirm as he revealed more details of mission.

Chrno felt the knot in his stomach tighten, silently praying that he would be able to keep himself under control. Just the thought of hugging Rosette made his heart flutter.

'Okay, I think this is it' Rosettes voice snapped him out of his daydreaming. Chrno looked further up the road to see a small sign reading "Glenore Next Exit"

'Alright, remember we're a couple' Rosette glanced at her partner 'We met at church, we've been together for almost a year now.' The blonde making sure to keep her eyes trained on the road, feeling her cheeks warm a little. 'We came here for a little retreat after hearing about it from some travellers' she finished a little more breathily than she'd intended.

She was beginning to panic '_Give me a warehouse full of demons and I'll take that over this any day!'_ she thought frantically. She'd never had any sort of boyfriend before so she wasn't really sure on how to act. Though she guessed that holding hands lots and hugging would have to cut it, it wasn't like she knew how to do anything else.

Rosette felt the steering wheel biting into her hands, not realizing she'd been gripping it so tightly. They had turned off the exit and were now driving along an old dirt road. Feeling her shoulders beginning to tense up '_This whole thing is just too weird, they better have a huge demon problem.'_ She thought bitterly.

'Rosette look.' The blonde's thoughts pushed aside for the moment to look at what Chrno was pointing at; an old wooden bridge. A faded sign hung from one of the support beams. Rosette slowed the jalopy, rolling down the window to poke her head out and have a better look.

"Welcome to Glenore. Enjoy Your Stay"

'You'd think they might have fixed the sign, might get a few more tourists that way.' She quipped, accelerating a little more. The old wooden bridge groaned a little as the car rolled over it. 'Nice sturdy bridge too' She drawled.

Chrno forced a smile, his heart starting to beat a little faster '_not long now, god this better work. Please let this work'_ Chrno was practically beside himself with how nervous the whole mission was making him. Even with the history he had being named the "Sinner" and all paled in comparison to this new task in his mind.

'Here we go' His contractor spoke, her anxiousness apparent in her voice. Chrno looked as a few houses came into view, a large clock tower visible above the roofs of the small cottages. 'We've arrived.'

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'Well, this place looks pretty normal to me' Rosette said sighing, putting her suitcase on the ground and taking in the small village before her. 'Do you sense anything strange or out of place here?' Rosette turned to look at her partner, no longer in his trademark red jacket and black slacks. He wore a white collared shirt and brown trousers held up with suspenders. A cap covered his head in place of the red bandanna he normally wore.

Rosette fiddled with the skirt of her own unfamiliar outfit. Unaccustomed as she was to being in normal clothing, her Militia outfit had become like a second skin to her almost. Though she had to admit the burgundy skirt and cream blouse looked good on her. The pocket watch resting around her neck as usual, the gold and maroon contrasted with her eyes and hair beautifully.

They stood now in the town square, a fountain gurgled happily in the centre of the village. The clock tower they had seen from the fringes of the village now loomed ominously before them, tall enough so that you would be able to see for miles were you too climb up to the top of it. The whole village looked serene, the only noises heard were of the surrounding forest, birds calling to each other from the great elms that surrounded the town almost protectively.

Townsfolk could be seen going about their business, wandering in and out of the few shops that lined the edge of the town square. A General Store, Barbershop, Tailor, Butcher and a couple other stores appeared to be the totality of the towns shopping district. This was not New York; Rosette found herself a little surprised that they had the few stores that they did. According to the census the population of Glenore was under six hundred.

Chrno looked a little dazed, his pupils dilated. The hair on the back of his neck had been standing on end since they set foot in the small village. '_What's going on here?'_ He thought, feeling a shiver down his spine; his skin was positively tingling with the amount of Astral present in the area.

'I'm not sure but the Astral in this place is phenomenal, I can feel it all around me'

Rosette examined her violet haired partner a little closer; he looked very much on edge. Not being able to sense any of the astral that Chrno said was all about them.

'What's it feel like?'

Chrno looked at his blonde contractor thoughtfully 'its hard to explain' he said pausing for a moment 'the best way to describe it would be its like a tingling sensation all over. Kind of like when your foot falls asleep'

His contractor seemed satisfied with the answer, turning away from him and picking up her suitcase again. ' Well we better find this bed and breakfast place before it starts to get dark.' Chrno looked up at the clock tower, the time read five forty-five. It didn't feel like it was getting late but the first orange tinged clouds had started to settle on the horizon. '_Better get a move on then'_ he thought, the inevitability of the mission's main requirement of himself and Rosette was starting to settle in. He felt like butterfly's were starting to come to life in his stomach.

'There it is!' Rosettes voice brought him out of his thoughts, sure enough, just outside of the town square and along a pebble path a cottage with the sign "The Autumn Leaf" stood no more than fifty feet from them. Rosette hurried off towards the cottage, Chrno giving a small sigh followed closely behind, his own suitcase in hand.

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'Hello, is anyone home?' Rosette pressed her forehead to the flyscreen of the door, hoping to see some sort of movement from inside before knocking again. 'Anybody here at all?' Rosette tried once more. 'Boy I don't know how they run a business successfully when no one is home!' Rosette huffed, leaving the door to check the windows ' Poor etiquette if you ask me'

Chrno placed his suitcase next to Rosettes on the veranda, deciding to try the door for himself. He thought it might be best if he did the talking when the people came to the door '_IF they come to the door that is_' he thought to himself. Glancing to where rosette was now, her face firmly pressed up to one of the windows. He wondered vaguely if that could be considered invasion of privacy or not.

Just as he was about to knock the door swung inwards, grunting in surprise he almost lost balance, as his knuckles struck nothing but air.

'Welcome!'

A young woman stood before him smiling cheerfully 'How can I help you?'

'Uh-' Chrno was momentarily lost for words, clearing his throat loudly 'err- we're booked to be staying here for the week, under the name of Christo-'

'Oh yes Christopher!' the woman cheerfully interrupted 'we've been expecting you, I apologise if you were waiting long, its hard to hear the front door in some parts of the house'

Chrno looked the woman over; she looked to be in her mid twenty's, she had pleasant features and warm brown hair, which was tied into a neat braid. Just as the purple haired demon was about to introduce himself the woman poked her head out the door. 'You must be Rosette! You're room is ready if you'd like to come right in dear'

To Chrno's mortification, Rosette still had her face pressed up against one of the windows trying to peek inside. Obviously not having heard the woman, Rosette continued her searching 'You know I'm pretty sure there must be someone home cause I swear I could have heard movement a minuet ago, maybe I should go around the side'

Rosette whistled, taking one last look before turning to her partner 'Hey Chrno come check this out, the stuff in here looks rich, maybe this wont be so bad after a-' The blonde froze mid sentence, the colour draining from her face as a young woman stood not a few feet from her, a hand extended in greeting.

'Miss Rosette, it's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Miranda Baits and I'll be taking care of you this week' the woman's saccharin rich smile seemed to knock back any words of shock from the nun. Rosette extended her own hand shakily, her face quickly filling with colour once more. A very bright vermilion, Chrno noted slightly amused. Though embarrassment quickly pushed aside the comedic value of the situation.

'N-nice to meet you' Rosette squeaked, realizing the woman must have heard everything she said.

'As I was about to say, please both of you come in and I'll show you to your room' The woman gestured to the door, Rosette walked over to her suitcase wanting nothing more than to disappear, She looked to her partner for sympathy but received none. In fact the only thing she got from the purple haired demon was a look of exasperation akin to the look a mother gave a particularly over excited child.

'_Oh dry up'_ she thought, shooting him a withering glare. Hurriedly walking in the door before her partner could further scrutinize her.

Chrno sighed, picking up his own suitcase and following the blonde haired girl into the house. Miranda looking at him brightly as she held the door open for the pair, Chrno smiled apologetically at her as he walked past. Hoping things couldn't get any worse or embarrassing, which of course he was wrong.

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'This is you room' Chrno and Rosette both poked there heads in, inspecting the room quickly before turning back to their hostess. Rosette hadn't been completely off when she'd said the place looked rich Chrno thought. The place wasn't draped in purple and gold velvet but all the furniture looked finely crafted, and the polished floorboards seemed to bounce the light just right, making the whole house look soft and homely.

'The bathroom is down the hall on the right, we have a communal washroom but seeing as you're our only guests for the week you'll pretty much have it to yourselves' Miranda motioned for the pair to go into their room. The room was spacious but not too big, a queen-sized bed was situated beneath the window on the far wall, the window spanned the size of the bed, a view of the surrounding forest added a little more colour to the room. A small chest of draws was situated on either side of the bed, old-fashioned oil burner lamps served as decoration on each.

A pine wardrobe was placed opposite the bed and a mirrored dresser stood closest to the door, the whole room although fairly modest had a cosy feel to it, the window above the bed filtered in the sunlight through floral patterned curtains. Bathing the room in a soft golden light.

'Wow this is really nice!' Rosette exclaimed, forgetting her earlier shyness. She placed her suitcase at the foot of the bed then plopped herself onto the bed itself, the springs giving a quite squeak. 'This is better than anything at the Ord-'

'-dinary house where you normally live!' Chrno cut Rosette off before she could finish her sentence. Rosette slapped her hand over her mouth unconsciously, '_stupid stupid!_' she berated herself. '_You haven't even been here an hour and you nearly let the cat out of the bag!_' The blonde mentally thanked Chrno for being on his toes.

'ha ha, yes very true!' The nun laughed nervously, 'Well I better get my things unpacked!' placing her suitcase on the bed she started to rummage through, her back turned to both Chrno and Miranda.

'yeah, I best do the same' Chrno followed suit, deciding it better to change the conversation entirely. Glancing at Miranda expecting to find suspicion on her face the demon was relieved to see the same bright smile she'd greeted them with earlier.

'Well I best leave you two love birds alone to settle in, dinner will be served in an hour but I'll give you a holler when it's ready in case you forget'

Chrno nodded in thanks to Miranda giving a small wave as she closed the door. His attention then turned to the Blonde headed red faced nun nervously hanging up a blouse.

'That was close, you need to be more careful or they'll be onto us!'

' Oh put a sock in it!' Rosette retorted, her face still pink from her earlier mistake. If there was one thing she hated more than anything it was being wrong, and she hated it when Chrno pointed it out to her. 'It was a one off and wont happen again, besides I wasn't the one dribbling like an idiot!'

'what are you talking about?'

'oh don't act so naïve! I- uh- you-' Rosette was trying hard to find some ammunition against her partner but wasn't have much luck, pointing her finger at him accusingly. 'you!'

'I what?' The purple haired demon stood expectantly. Waiting for the blonde nun to fire some poorly thought of insult his way. 'You never were one for on the spot comebacks Rosette' the corners of his mouth lifting a little. '_She looks pretty when she's flustered_' the thought flashed in his head before he could beat it away with mundane other things.

'uh- we better unpack everything' Chrno cleared his throat uncomfortably, earning a suspicious look from his blonde haired partner. 'then we can sort out sleeping arrangements' a slight pink kissed his tan cheeks lightly, the butterflies had once again awoken in his stomach.

'Sleeping arrangements? ' Rosette queried, curious as to why her partner was looking flustered, and curious as to why there were sleeping arrangements. 'You can sleep in the other room!'

'Rosette, what other room?' the Demon deadpanned 'we're a "couple" remember' he gestured to the queen size bed sitting silently in the room. His face still felt a little hot, he turned away putting his hands to work unpacking his own suitcase, refusing to entertain he idea of them sleeping in the same bed. He threw a look over his shoulder to Rosette, unable to hide his amusement when he saw the look on his partners face.

'Oh-' Rosette stuttered, her face flushed. She was a sister of the cloth, such things were not allowed at the order. '_Then again since when do I ever abide by any rules set by the order' _she chuckled a little, the embarrassment fading, she wanted to have a little fun with her purple haired demon. She was only too aware how prone he was to getting extremely embarrassed by things like this, especially if they concerned her.

Rosette turned from the wardrobe 'Chrno' she cooed, sauntering over to the bed. 'What if it gets cold at night? I'll need _someone_ to keep me warm' she sat on the edge of the bed, patting a spot next to her with her hand. ' I wonder who that someone could be?' she teased, her glee growing as she saw her partner's posture stiffen.

As for poor Chrno his face felt like it was on fire, he knew Rosette was baiting him. She loved making him squirm, he hadn't known when she'd discovered she could do it but it had become a favourite game of hers. If there were an argument she didn't want to lose she'd use similar tactics on him. Using his embarrassment as a weapon, he'd lost more battles than he'd like to admit to his contractor.

'Oh settle down you rube' Rosette sighed, the game was over 'you're sleeping on the floor.'

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'Thanks so much for having us, we're sorry it was on such short notice but it really was a last minuet decision.'

'Think nothing of it, travellers are always welcome here in Glenore' Miranda gestured for Chrno and Rosette to sit. Chrno had been sure to keep track of the time so they wouldn't be late to dinner. Having walked into the dining room a few minuets shy of six o'clock. Both him and his blonde partner had washed and changed clothes before heading to dinner. Rosette was now in a blue skirt and white blouse, the demon wearing a beige shirt and black trousers.

They sat around the dining table, a white tablecloth draped elegantly across the varnished pine. Rosette was seated opposite Chrno, their feet almost touching underneath the table. Miranda sat at the head of the table, not settling down until all the food had been placed on the white tablecloth. Rosette couldn't deny, the food placed before them look positively delicious, roasted duck it looked like, a plate of baked potatoes and pumpkin sat alongside a jug of gravy. Sour cream, peas and freshly cooked bread rolls, Rosette was practically salivating.

'We still we can't thank you enough-' Chrno nudged Rosette slightly, becoming concerned as he saw the look of one who'd seen an oasis in the desert cross his blonde contractors eyes. Rosette seemed to snap out of her dream, nodding in agreement to her partner's words, though not really sure if she'd heard what he'd said at all.

'Oh please its nothing we enjoy the company, especially when its such a young and handsome couple as yourselves' Rosette and Chrno both blushed at her words, The demon sneaking a quick look at his contractor seated across from him. Not surprised to find her fiddling with her napkin, eyes averted.

'Why I remember when Callum and I were your age, we had the same lovers sparkle in our eyes' This cause the violet haired demon and the blued eyed nun to blush even more so. It was Chrno's turn now to find entertainment in his napkin much the same as Rosette had.

'Speak of the devil' Chrno and Rosette both looked up as a young man in no more than his mid twenty's walked into the room, moving to Miranda and placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

'Telling tales again dear?' The young man moved to the seat at the far end of the table, grabbing a napkin and elegantly draping it over his lap as he sat down. The motion almost fluid as though he'd had years of practice.

'Of course I am dearest, its what I do best remember?' The young woman quipped, a gently smile on her lips. 'I want you to meet our latest guests, Rosette and Chrno' Miranda gestured to the pair who now stood in greeting. Chrno extended his hand, the young man shaking it firmly before gently taking Rosette's in a similar mana.

'Pleasure to meet you, I hope you enjoy your stay here.'

'We will, its so nice of you to take us in' Rosette smiled at him, blushing a little as his hand still held hers gently. '_He's very handsome'_ she thought to herself, he had lightly tanned skin and bright green eyes. His hair fell just below his ears and was a rich brown colour. Not quite as exotic as her best friends purple braid and crimson eyes but still a handsome man if she ever saw one.

'My wife and I have been taking care of couples just like you two for close to forty years now, we'll be sure to try and make your stay as comfortable as possible'

'_forty years?'_ Rosettes smile faltered as the words left the young man's mouth. Callum let go of her hand and took his seat; she hadn't seemed to notice at all and still stood hand extended as if he'd never let go.

'Rosette?' Chrno's voice brought her back to the dinner table, three pairs of concerned eyes looked up at her. Clearing her throat gently she smiled brightly and lowered herself to her seat. '_Did he just say forty years?'_ Maybe she had just misheard him and he'd said four years and not forty. Her ears were playing tricks on her, she dismissed what she had heard as being part of her over active imagination. '_Boy, not eating for half a day does strange things to your head!'_ she thought, pushing the niggling doubt to the furthest part of her mind. Though she couldn't help but still feel the doubt niggling at her.

'So tell me, how did you two meet?' Miranda asked, indicating to them both to start eating.

Rosette wondered vaguely if Chrno had heard what she did, but still figured it must have been her mind playing tricks on her. Food was sure to make her think straight again. Taking note of the sharp look she received from her purple haired partner to watch her table manners as she began to pile some food on her plate.

'Water Rosette?'

Rosette nodded as Callum poured her a glass and then Chrno's, thanking him politely. Watching as her friend lied to their hosts about their meeting, where they were from, what their plans were. Part of her felt a little guilty, as these two kind people were so trusting. The nun silently prayed that whatever was going on in this town didn't have anything to do with the Baits.

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'That was one of the best meals I have ever had!' Rosette exclaimed, patting her stomach and grinning. 'But I tell ya what, I couldn't eat one more mouthful, I'm as full as a boot!' the blonde flung herself lazily onto the bed, rolling onto her back and grunting contently.

'I'm surprised you managed to keep your manners, I thought you were going to start devouring the food as soon as it was placed on the table!'

'Oh shush you, no faith in me at all!' Rosette cried, hurt that her partner didn't think she could hold it together at all. ' I thought I did wonderfully tonight! No slip ups, no foot-in-mouth.' She continued ' I was a picture of eloquence!'

Chrno turned to look at his partner, now propped up on her elbows, a look of indignation on her face. 'Ok ok, you did good' he sighed, not wanting to pick a fight as he was utterly exhausted from the whole day. 'We learned a fair bit from the Baits tonight, Callum said there is a festival coming up, its might be a good chance to have a look around whilst the rest of the town is busy in preparations'

'Mmm sounds great' Rosette muttered sleepily.

'Yeah I think we ought to start first thing tom-' Chrno stopped as he heard a sleepy yawn elicit from his contractor. 'Okay, how bout we call it a night?'

'Sounds like a plan' Rosette yawned again, rubbing her eyes. Rosette was already in her nightclothes, having come back from dinner and gone to change almost straight away. Chrno had changed not long after. They had bid goodnight to their hosts, both deciding a good nights sleep was in order.

Rosette had settled underneath the covers of the queen sized bed but found she was still uncomfortable. Propping herself up on her elbows she peered over the side of the bed to look down at her partner.

'Comfortable?'

'I'm ok' Chrno answered though in truth he wasn't in the slightest. All he had was one pillow for his head and a blanket to soften the hard wooden floorboards. '_I'm going to wake up very sore tomorrow_' he thought gloomily. Giving his contractor a toothy grin 'I've slept on stone for longer than you've been alive, I think I'll be fine' he said finally.

Rosette looked down at her best friend, fairly sure he was lying to her about being comfortable. Her mind ticked over 'yeah, but this is not the same'

Her purple haired partner looked up at her thoughtfully, appreciating how nicely her golden hair framed her face. 'true, but I'm fine really, its ok.'

'Liar' Rosette reached down and playfully flicked the side of his head. '_This is wrong but I don't want him to be uncomfortable'_ she sighed 'listen you can sleep up here on the bed with me.' She sat up patting the empty space next to her.

'Really its fi-'

'I don't care, you have no choice' the nun cut him of promptly 'you'll be of no use to me on this mission if you are too sore from sleeping on the floor to do anything'

Chrno was now sitting up, giving the blonde a questioning look. 'Are you sure that's appropriate?'

'_Why are you making this harder than it needs to be'_ rosette thought moodily. 'Look, you sleep on top of the covers and stay to your half of the bed and it'll be fine' she finished impatiently. Thankful of the darkness as she felt her cheeks warm a little.

'Ok' he gave in

'_Now I really won't be getting any sleep'_ Chrno thought, picking himself up off the floor. Hoping he could keep his thoughts on the mission and not the fact that he was sleeping in the same bed as his contractor. A layer of material being the only thing separating them… '_Stop it'_ he warned himself.

Rosette scooted over, still feeling the heat in her face. 'Good, I knew you'd see it my way' she said with satisfaction.

The nun and the demon settled into their respective sides of the bed, Rosette underneath the covers and Chrno on top. Chrno had to admit the bed was much better than the floorboards, a little sigh escaping his lips.

'Goodnight Chrno' Rosette mumbled, sleep making her mind a little hazy.

'Goodnight Rosette' Chrno answered, sleep not quite getting a hold on him. But he knew he'd eventually have to calm down and sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.

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Rosette was having the most wonderful dream; she was the queen of England and had servants waiting on her hand and foot. She was dressed in the most expensive and exquisite gown and adorned with precious jewellery. And there she was seated at a grand table in an enormous hall with food on platters as far as the eye could see.

'Yes please I'll have some more tart' she mumbled, feeling herself start to wake from her dream 'no I don't want to leave, I've only just begun dessert' she cried. It was always like this, she almost never got to stay, her body wanted to get up but her mind wasn't ready to come back into the world of reality.

'not fair' she said grumpily.

The nun opened her eyes slowly, squinting as she adjusted to the light that was filtering in through the curtains. She felt wonderfully refreshed and not at all sleepy like she normally did back at the order. 'mm, good mattress' she garbled patting the bed slightly, she was going to look forward to waking up feeling this good for the rest of the week.

'_Better wake Chrno'_ she thought quickly, they had a big day ahead of them and needed to get a head start on things.

Rosette turned to wake up her partner, reaching over to give him a shove or two. The nun froze solid when she laid eyes on the sleeping form next to her. Her short, violet haired demon was gone, instead lying in his place was a rather full grown man. The blonde's breath caught in her throat, issuing a strangled gargle. He had the same purple hair as Chrno, and tanned skin but her mind screamed at her that this was not her partner. This was some impostor lying next to her in Chrno's nightwear.

The serene morning was suddenly shattered as a shrill scream cut through the silence. Nearby birds flew from their perches high up in the trees, rabbits sprinted for safety under shrubbery. Even the sun seemed to flinch from the sudden outcry.

Back in The Autumn Leaf a very blissfully unaware demon was assaulted by the sound of panic-stricken screaming. Crimson eyes flew open just as a rather heavy book was hurled in his direction, a sharp pain lanced across his ear as the book found its mark.

Mind clearing quickly, he launched himself out of bed, franticly looking around the room to find his attacker. He stopped in confusion as he saw a very terrified Rosette backed to the far side of the room grabbing nearby objects and screaming madly.

'R-Rosette?' Chrno ducked as the young nun flung a comb at him, he gingerly took a step towards her. This only seem to make matters worse as his contractor's state became more distressed

'-whoareyouwhathaveyoudonewithhim?'

'What are you saying?' Chrno couldn't understand what was wrong with her. She looked like she didn't even recognize him.

'Rosette what's wrong?' he asked again, dodging a shoe that was viciously thrown in his direction. The shoe making a loud thud as it hit the wall behind him.

Rosette glanced around frantically for more things to throw, she had no idea who this was but he'd picked the wrong nun to mess with she thought savagely. 'Who are you?' she screamed at him again 'What have you done with Chrno?'

'Chrno?' the purple haired demon was perplexed. 'Its me Rosette, I'm Chrno!' Chrno took another step towards Rosette being careful not to frighten her anymore than she already was. The nun seemed to have run out of things to throw at him. '_Thank God'_ he thought to himself.

Realisation hit the blonde nun like a freight train 'how?' she frantically reached down to look at the gold pocket watch that hung around her neck. The watch was slowly ticking, he wasn't using her astral. 'How can this be possible?' she demanded.

'Rosette what are you talking about?' Chrno was starting to get worried. He had no idea why Rosette was acting like she'd seen a ghost. The fact that she wasn't telling him what was wrong worried him even more so.

'Look in the mirror Chrno!' the nun cried, her fear of him gone as she took a step towards him. He towered over her now; very similar to how he looked when he was in his true form. The pyjamas Chrno had been wearing the night before were now very torn in the arms and the legs were up around his knees.

Chrno turned to the dresser, hearing a rip as the nightwear he had on tore as he moved. What his crimson eyes met in the mirror made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, his reflection was not of a young boy anymore but of a full-grown man. To be truthful it was his false adult form he'd used before he'd lost his horns. '_The Watch!_' he thought frantically, feeling his heart relax a little as he saw Rosette shake her head, she must have already thought of that.

None of this made any sense at all; both the nun and the demon could only stare, this shouldn't be possible but it was and by right Rosettes pocket watch should be draining her life away but this wasn't happening either.

'What the hell is going on here?'

**To Be Continued…**

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**W**ell there we have it, chapter 2 completed! This is like double the size of chapter 1 and still not much has happened! I'm so mean for leaving it on a cliffhanger; I'm dying to tell you what happens! But alas…you must wait till its posted ducks as random pieces of furniture are thrown at her hehe, yes I'll hurry I promise D

A/N: I really wanted to add more to the last few scenes but I'm really cut for time and had to leave out a lot of things I really wanted to put in. I have relatives over for Christmas and thus have had almost no time to finish this. So I apologise if it's been written too hurriedly, I'll more than likely go back and republish this chapter at a later date.

**Next chapter**: Rosette consults Father Remington about Chrno's change but is told to suck it up and continue with the investigation! But how can you do anything when you're swept away in preparations for the towns' latest annual festival ' The Lovers Moon'! (How lame am I? P)

Merry Christmas and New Years guys and I'll see you next chapter, please review and tell me your thoughts, constructive criticism always welcome! Have a great New Years everyone!


	3. Hem your Blessings

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything even remotely related to Chrno Crusade, All characters property of Daisuke Moriyama

A/N I finally finished this chapter. I've had a lot of things happening in my life, which have prevented me from getting this done sooner so I apologise for the big delay. I have completed the entire plot outline for this fic so I warn you this is a long work in progress, looking at possibly twelve or thirteen chapters. In the later chapters I shall be shortening the chapters to only a couple of thousand words each so that I don't have huge gaps like this arise when I have important stuff coming up in the real world.

Also I want to thank everyone who has reviewed my first two chapters, your reviews meant a lot to me and really helped me to get this done, so thank you all so much!

Just to clear up something I have intentionally spelt Chrno's name C-H-R-N-O because that's the way it was originally spelt in the Japanese version as well as the Madman Entertainment English release of the manga as well as i prefer to spell it this way. I will not be changing this at all so do NOT leave reviews asking me to do so, if it upsets you that much dont read my fic, its as simple as that.

Once again, this is a Chrno x Rosette AU piece with a dab (or bucket load) of OOC behaviour.

'Blah blah blah.' – Normal Speech

'_Blah blah blah._' – Thoughts

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**Intolerable Cruelty **

** Chapter 3 **

**Hem your blessings with praise, lest they unravel.**

Chrno picked at the ripped seams of his nightclothes, the cuffs of his shirt were now somewhere around his elbows. The once full-length pants now hung around his knees, he glanced at his reflection in the mirror, his nose wrinkled at the demon staring back at him. The initial surprise had worn off since he first caught sight of himself in the mirror, the whole incident felt like a blur and a little too surreal for this demons' liking. It had been too long since he'd seen this older vision of himself; he winced a little as he was reminded of the last time he was in this older form.

'_Not since her..._' he thought sadly, as much as those memories hurt him he would never allow himself to forget, that itself would be an insult to her memory.

'Magdalena.'

'What was that?' Chrno's thoughts snapped back to reality, noticing for the first time in what seemed like hours (but was really only minutes) his contractor's eyes on him, kneeling next to her suitcase its contents astray.

'Oh nothing, just silly thoughts that's all' he answered quickly, brushing a stubborn strand of violet hair from his eyes. He had told Rosette a little of his life before he lost his horns, though not the more painful memories, even after fifty years those wounds still felt fresh.

'Well don't just stand there like a scarecrow!' the nun badgered, 'I need to contact the Order! Sister Kate is going to eat her wimple when I tell her what's happened!' Chrno could see a twinkle of glee in the blonde's eyes. Despite how much Rosette hated being in trouble with the Abbess, he couldn't help but get the feeling that his partner almost enjoyed giving the woman high blood pressure.

'What are you going to say?' The demon asked quietly, he had guessed what the Order might say: regroup and press on. Though he was at a loss to see how they would explain this little "growth spurt" to the Baits.

'No idea' rosette said simply, grunting with effort as she pulled the portable communication device out of her suitcase. Appreciating her partner as she could only imagine what the weapon pack must weigh, this was a third of the size.

'They'll at least be happy to hear I haven't wrecked anything yet though!' the blonde said cheerfully, Chrno despite his condition couldn't help but take a bite.

' "Yet" being the key word Rosette, the week is young and I'm sure you'll find something to wreck soon enough' he half regretted his words as a shoe was thrown rather viscously in his direction, narrowly missing its mark.

'ha ha, quite the comedian aren't we?' Rosette deadpanned, not taking her eyes off the purple haired demon as she began to dial the Order's number. Chrno grinned back at her goofily, he loved it when he got a reaction out of her. The demon was about to add something but was quickly shushed by Rosette, holding the receiver up to her mouth.

'Rosette Christopher speaking, please put Father Remington through' Chrno strained to hear the reply but his demon ears failed him. Once long ago when he'd had his horns his hearing had been impeccable, he could hear a pin drop fifty miles away if he knew to listen for it.

'That's wonderful but I don't care who he's blessing right now this is an emergency!' Rosette gripped the receiver tightly, if there was one thing she couldn't stand about the order it was the seemingly endless amount of pen pushers therein. Muttering some not so very nun-like comments under her breath, her whole body slumped in relief as she heard a deep musical voice.

'Yes Rosette what is so important?' Father Remington's voice crackled through. No matter how good the Elder's work was, being this far out of town made for very poor communication.

'Thank God!' Rosette said breathily 'something happened! We had dinner with the Baits (and I must say it was truly _delicious_ dinner) and then we went to bed and Chrno he's well he's- not him! I mean well he is him but he's not!' the words tumbled out of the blonde's mouth, the demon across the room looked curiously at his contractor.

'What?' the Fathers voice crackled back, 'Rosette you're not making any sense' Chrno noticed frustration flash over the pretty blonde's features. Despite himself he thought how cute she looked when she was flustered. '_enough of that'_ he reminded himself.. He went back to picking at the seams on his sleeve.

'Well he's big!' The blonde gestured wildly with her free hand 'we woke up this morning and he's grown about three foot in height!' Rosette waited for the reply from Father Remington, all she could hear for now was crackling.

Finally he spoke 'Is it affecting the pocket watch device?' Rosette instinctively clutched the steadily ticking device that hung around her neck on its gold chain. 'No, everything is normal Father, this seems to be independent of the watch' The blonde was once again met with crackling. Glancing over at her partner who looked utterly absorbed with his torn sleeves.

'Can you think of anything that might have caused this?' Rosette thought back to when they first arrived at town, and Chrno's comment about how much astral was present in the town. 'The only thing I can think of is that Chrno said there was a high amount of Astral in the town'

_riiiiiip_

Rosettes head snapped up, looking over at her partner who was standing with a rather guilty look on his face, he held in his left hand the right sleeve of his night clothes. Rosette rolled her eyes at the demon thinking to herself that sometimes he acted so childishly. God knows he was the oldest person she knew. However his formally child-like appearance allowed him to get away with a lot of silly things in which would normally get him into a lot of trouble. The nun had to thank him for that, people who didn't know what he really was went easy on him, feeling sorry for the odd looking purple haired child.

After what seemed like an eternity the speaker came to life 'Rosette, I've just spoken to Sister Kate and your orders are to continue with the mission.'

'What?' the blonde's eyes went wide in disbelief ' How do you expect us to explain this to the people we are staying with?' the crackling became more severe, making the nun hold the speaker away from her ear.

'We think the astral may be the factor behind Chrno's change. If anything this will make your guise more believable' Rosette couldn't believe her ears 'continue until you find out the source of the astral, you're good at making up excuses I'm sure you'll figure out something to tell your hosts.' and with a click the nun was left cursing at a dead line.

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'Are you sure this is going to work?' asked a very nervous demon. It had taken him close to an hour trying to calm the fiery nun down; the portable communication device lay in a broken heap on the floor. His contractor having put her foot through the contraption several times in anger had later said. 'I sure showed those big idiots at the order!' The demon feared too much for his safety and had decided to remain quite throughout the whole thing.

'Ok I'm gonna go see if the house is clear, then we make a run for it to a local tailor and we get you some new clothes, sound ok?' It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement; Rosette had no idea how they were going to explain Chrno's little growth spurt to the Baits so she had decided their best option was to avoid them like the plague for the mean time. Until she figured out some elaborate excuse to tell them '_I'm good at making excuses but I doubt Houdini himself could out of this pickle_' she thought to herself, but she wasn't about to let Chrno know that she was at a loss for once.

'Don't you think it would be better if I climbed out the window?' The purple haired demon asked, fearing the looks he was going to get once they got into the town square. Rosette had managed to get him into some of his old clothes, though every time he moved he could hear the seams creak with the strain, not to mention the pants (which were now more like shorts) were making him extremely uncomfortable in certain places. Holding back the temptation to try and adjust the shorts further, he resigned to the fact that for now he was going to have to put up with it till they got to a tailor.

'Look, if need be I'll create a distraction, but for now stick to the plan!' Rosette took a deep breath before quietly slipping out of their room beginning to tip toe down the hallway. All appeared to be clear, popping her head into the kitchen, followed by the bathroom and sitting room 'all clear!' she whispered back hoarsely. Watching as her purple haired friend snuck out quietly, closing the door softly behind him. The nun couldn't help but chuckle a little; he did look awfully funny in clothes four sizes too small on him. The hassle it had been to get him in the clothes was enough to wipe the grin off her face, what she hadn't planned on however was how different he looked in this older form, or the funny feeling she got in the pit of her stomach when she'd been helping him get dressed.

Rosette now far too preoccupied with her thoughts got the shock of her life, just as she was about to open the front door it swung inward and collided with her head with a loud crack.

'Owwwww' the nun moaned, the door had sent her flying backwards landing uncomfortably on her backside, the throbbing from her head however distracted her from the rough landing. 'what in the wor-' Rosette looked up at her assailant, freezing in horror as two Miranda Baits stood over her, an apologetic look on their faces.

'Are you ok?' Rosette could hear her partners voice vaguely, and suddenly two Chrno's appeared looking down at her, concern written on their faces.

'Holy hell there are two of you!' Rosette exclaimed blinking vigorously trying to get the two Chrno's to merge. Her head stung painfully and she could feel a lump forming, gingerly placing a hand on her forehead, a small bump met her probing fingers. She groaned in annoyance.

'Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't even think when I opened the door, how clumsy of me!' The young woman exclaimed, kneeling down next to the abused nun. Chrno now also kneeling next to Rosette looked at the young woman, the cat was out of the bag it seemed, then again she'd yet to say anything other than apologize. In the back of his mind Chrno vaguely considered making a bolt for it, perhaps go hide up a tree or find a suitable sized shrub to conceal himself in. '_Yes abandon Rosette, every man for himself. She'd kill me' _he thought gloomily.

'Forgive me for not introducing myself, you must be Chrno and Rosette!' Rosette who's head was finally starting to stop spinning opened her eyes, remembering their situation and how her plan to 'avoid them like the plague' had drowned like a rat.

'Miranda Its ok I wasn't looking where I was going, I-' Rosette was about to go on but was cut off by giggling. The woman kneeling next to her seemed to have found something rather amusing 'uh, pardon did I say something funny?' The nun asked. Chrno was waiting for the inevitable, prepared to make a run for it if needed.

'I'm sorry dear, It happens all the time' Rosette just stared at her '_she opens doors in peoples faces all the time?_' she was thoroughly confused. 'Miranda are you ok?' she asked again, afraid the woman had lost her marbles.

'I'm not Miranda dear; I'm her sister Rosemary. We're identical twins you see' The piece that had been missing from the puzzle clicked into place for the demon, relief washed over him. 'My sister and her husband had to leave early this morning, they received bad news regarding her husbands father who lives a few hours from here.'

'The father has fallen ill you see, so they will be up there for the remainder of this week and depending on his health the rest of next week as well' The nun and the demon couldn't help but stare open mouthed at their absolute pot-luck 'They are sorry they didn't get to explain the situation to you personally due to the urgency of the phone call they received this morning they had to leave almost right away.'

Rosette finally started to pick herself off the ground, her heart was hammering in her chest, was it really going to be that easy? Bump on the head forgotten she grabbed Chrno's shoulder for support. 'So they didn't tell you anything about us other than that we are staying here for a week?' Rosette was barely able to keep the excitement out of her voice. Chrno could only stare in wonderment at how easily they had gotten out of the problem they were facing with his transformation.

'Like I said they were in a rush, but I hope I can accommodate you as best they were' The young woman finished with a smile, the resemblance was scary, not a hair out of place could make you tell the difference between them where they standing side by side.

Rosette took this as her opportunity to get the ball rolling as a small light bulb blinked to life in her mind 'Yes well we have a small problem you see' she began, stretching her arm around Chrno's shoulders, noting that it felt odd that his shoulders where now almost past her head. 'While we were packing, and I don't know _how_ it happened but my partners suitcase was somehow misplaced back home (we have a lot of younger relatives you could say) and we need to find an emergence tailor to make him a couple of pairs of pants and some shirts'

'oh you're kidding? That's terrible!' Rosemary exclaimed. The young woman took the time to have a proper look at Chrno and a small giggle escaped her lips 'you poor thing!' she said sympathetically, placing a hand on the demons shoulder. Rosette couldn't help but laugh a little at the situation, even though her head was still hurting quite considerably.

'I know just the place to take him, would it be ok if I took your man away from you for the day to get him all fixed up?' Rosette blushed a little at Chrno being referred to as "her man" 'Remember tonight is the Festival and he'll need a formal outfit as well' The young woman said, looking the demon up and down as if sizing him up.

Chrno felt like an insect under a magnifying glass, he hated attention, wanting nothing more than the shrink into a corner somewhere. Rosette on the other hand had better ideas 'of course how could I forget! He's all yours for the day!' the nun said cheerfully giving the demon a hard pat on the back. ' See what you can do with him and I'll make sure to pay whatever is necessary once you've got everything sorted out'

Rosette figured since the Order was going to flip them off the way they had she could at least be kind enough to give them a nice fat bill to pay for at the end of the week. 'Whatever it costs I'll pay!' she said with a wide smile. Chrno almost shivered when he saw the look on his contractors face, she really did scare him sometimes.

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The blonde exhaled in boredom, it had been almost two hours since Rosemary had taken off with Chrno. She wondered idly what her best friend was doing right now, possibly being stuck with pins and being drawn all over with tailors chalk. She'd wanted to go along but Rosemary had insisted she have a look around and meet some of the townsfolk. Rosette now sat at a small table in a milk bar, sipping on a chocolate milkshake. She'd walked around the town square enough times before she decided to go find a drink somewhere.

Across the square from where she was sitting stood the tailor shop, her eyes drifted back to the shop frequently, hoping to see some glimpse of Chrno. This got her thoughts back to the change in him, he looked so much more different than before. The baby-fat in his cheeks gone, his face was now more angular. His eyes seemed darker in colour and more slanted, his skin was more tanned. She blushed when she thought of seeing him without a shirt on; she'd seen her partner without a shirt on a number of occasions but it had never fazed her. He was her best friend after all, but this morning she'd gotten quite a shock, feeling incredibly guilty when she'd found her eyes lingering just a little too long on her demon friend.

'_This is stupid, you don't think things like that about Chrno_!' she mentally berated herself. Frustrated that the heat in her cheeks still wouldn't leave her she huffed in annoyance, taking a big sip of the milkshake and finding anything to look at that wasn't the tailor shop.

She noted the people that were going about their business; all were fairly young maybe around Rosemary's age. Something was out of place however; the nun unable to put her finger on it thought over what she had learned. Remembering back to last night's dinner when the Baits had claimed to been running the inn for almost forty years which was impossible when you saw how young they were. '_Or how young they look I should say'_ Rosette tried to view their hosts as suspicious but couldn't hold it for long; they'd been so kind to her and Chrno.

'_What then?'_ she thought sighing, nothing seemed out of place in this town, everyone seemed so normal and healthy and 'young' she spoke out loud. Realisation hit her like a train, not one person they had seen in town looked over the age of thirty not to mention where were the children in town?

'Bingo' she said with a grin.

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Chrno shifted uncomfortably, he had been standing on a pedestal for over an hour now. He wasn't one to enjoy any real sort of attention let alone be poked and prodded by complete strangers. 'Ah yes that colour really suits you!' exclaimed the bubbly seamstress who was holding a crimson fabric to his chest. A giggle came from the corner of the room where two young women sat at sewing machines, Chrno sighed glancing at the girls in the corner, they had been eye-balling him continuously since he'd walked in the store.

'Girls! Enough talk more work, we have to have this ready for him by tonight!' snapped the seamstress at his side. The girls stopped giggling almost immediately, the demon had to admit that even though they reminded him a lot of the three nuns back at the order these two girls looked like they were actually doing work rather than standing around spreading gossip.

'So who's the lucky lady?' simpered the seamstress, Chrno had not spoken much since he'd been in there, the woman standing in front of him had been providing more than enough conversation for the two of them, introducing herself as Madam Pomfrey. He had been content to just stand there and think about other things. This question however had caused his cheeks to warm a little.

'uh, Rosette she's my g–girlfriend' the demon stuttered, the words seemed foreign on his lips but he noticed not entirely unwelcome. Suddenly looking down at his feet, he noticed out of the corner of his eye the smile on the Madam Pomfrey's face widen. 'ah well, she's a very lucky lady, young man!' she exclaimed, The demon could have sworn he heard a snicker at the mention of Rosette, he glanced over to the corner of the room where the two young girls sat, heads buried in their work. '_must have been imagining things'_

His thoughts lingered on his partner for a little longer; it was strange being taller than her. Of course he'd transformed into his demon form when she was little but not since the orphanage incident. He'd felt a great urge to protect her, to really be there for her if she called. He'd do anything to keep her out of harms way.

He'd noted earlier that morning when Rosette had been helping him fit into his smaller forms clothes, he could have sworn he saw her blushing, which was unusual because rosette was hardly one to be bashful around anyone, especially himself. '_why would she start getting embarrassed now?_' he asked himself. His mind wandered into the endless reasons as to why Rosette would be embarrassed by him.

'Well my dear boy' said the seamstress interrupting the silence 'I think we have our colours picked out for you, we can start pinning!'

Chrno groaned, today was going to be a long day.

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'Gosh its been like three hours already what on earth could be taking this long!' Rosette huffed impatiently, after having finished her milkshake she had taken to pacing around in the town square, waiting for her purple haired friend to make an appearance out of the tailor shop but so far she had not seen hide nor tail of her partner.

She was absolutely busting to tell him about her discovery, and how brilliant she was for figuring it out on her own. 'That'll show those big idiots at the order!' she said with a snarl.

'Miss Christopher!' Rosette spun around at the mention of her name. Rosemary came jogging up to her looking slightly breathless; a few strands of hair had fallen out of her neat braid. 'I've been looking for you everywhere dear!' the young woman gulped 'It just occurred to me that you probably don't have a gown for tonight! And I thought it would be a shame if you were to not be able to dress up for the occasion like everyone else!'

Rosette took a moment to think, on one hand she really wanted to tell Chrno what she'd discovered, but on the other she also loved any opportunity to dress up in fancy dresses, something she was not often given privilege to in her line of work. And she had been waiting around for hours to see him emerge from the shop. '_I'll see what I can find out about Rosemary and about this town'_ she thought to herself as a side note, though she knew the teenage side of her really wanted to try on some of those dresses.

'That sounds like a really good idea, I didn't bring anything suitable for tonight!' the nun said honestly.

'Excellent!' said Rosemary who had regained some of her breath back 'My good friend Patricia is a dress maker for her hobby, you look about the same size as her so I'm sure we could find something to fit you'

'May I ask what tonight is actually for?' Rosette had not had much time to really think about the festival tonight or what is was really about.

'Well my dear, lets start walking to my friends house and I'll tell you the story on the way' Rosette nodded at the woman. The young nun took one more look at the tailor shop, not a sign of her partner. She sighed '_guess I'll have to tell the big idiot tonight then_' and with that she turned and walked off with Rosemary.

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At six o'clock the bell tower rang, birds startled by the sudden interruption of peace flew into the sky from their perches in the treetops. A purple haired demon sat nervously staring at the wall clock of the small tailor shop he had spent a majority of the day in. His suit had been completed and he now waited patiently for Madam Pomfrey to give him the remainder of his new clothes so he could go back to the inn and meet up with Rosette again.

'Well young man, everything had been done that you asked for.' The woman said giving a wink as she walked back into the front of the store 'I'll get one of the girls to pop the bill over to the inn tomorrow morning as we don't have much time today due to our little town festival!' she said beaming. A large brown parcel sat on the counter of the small shop waited to be collected.

'I really appreciate this, you have done a really good job' Chrno not one educated in clothes assumed that anything that didn't look like a Hessian sack must be good. 'You've worked really hard so thank you' he finished with a sweet smile. If one could disarm a person with a single look that would have been it, the two shop assistants huddled at the back swayed.

'Not a problem dear, anytime' Madam Pomfrey winked.

Tucking the parcel under one arm he said another quick thank you to Madam Pomfrey and a small wave to the two assistants he could see peaking from behind a door.

The demon turned and had not taken more than a step towards the door when he was met with a tall burly man. 'You must be Chrno!' the man boomed. The man towered over Chrno, which was quite odd in itself seeing as Chrno himself in this form was by no means what one might call short. 'The names Carl!' The man thrust out his hand to shake the surprised demons.

'uh-' The purple haired demon had lost his train of thought 'n-nice to meet you Carl' Taking a hasty step back to get a view of the man before him. He was built like a tree, but not what one might consider portly. Brown hair, which dusted his forehead lightly, his hand felt rough and calloused in Chrno's own. A labourer of some kind thought the demon.

'Carl!' The high-pitched voice of Madam Pomfrey screeched 'what did I tell you about coming in and scaring people like that!' Chrno didn't take his eyes off the man. 'Didn't you mother ever teach you any manners?'

'Aye she did!' The man was now grinning widely 'but its not tha often we get out 'er town folk in 'ere is it?'

Madam Pomfrey sighed ' You'll have to excuse Carl, he's quite fond of out of towns folk' Chrno glanced back to Madam Pomfrey who was giving the burly man a glare.

'Tha's not fair Marley, I'm jus bein polite to tha youngster!' The man let go of Chrno's hand moving around to the counter and giving Madam Pomfrey and wink. The demon noticed the slight twinkle in Carl's eyes reflected by the seamstress. '_Must be married or something'_ he thought quietly. His thoughts were soon confirmed.

'This is my husband Carl, he's the foreman for the towns mine' The man gave a toothy smile, wrapping a protective arm around the smaller woman. 'aye an' this is my lil rose bud Marle!' Chrno couldn't help but grin at the tired look the seamstress was now giving her husband. A quick glance at the wall clock however wiped the smile off his face '_Rosette is going to kill me'_ the demon thought cringing.

'I'm really sorry to be rude but I have to get going. I promised to meet my girlfriend at six-thirty so we could go to the fest-'

'Oh no you can't do that!' Madam Pomfrey interrupted taking a step towards the demon a smile on her face. 'You can't do that at all' Chrno gave the woman a questioning look '_what now?_' he thought harshly.

'You see' the woman began 'It is customary that the men and women get ready for the festival separately so as not to spoil the surprise!' Chrno felt a hand on his shoulder 'that's right my boy! You'll be comin with me!'

'But Rosette she probably doesn't even know-' The demon began to protest. Lord knew Rosette would not be impressed if he just left her there.

'Its ok dear, I'm certain Rosemary told me she would go and get her' this did little to ease the demons anxiety. He couldn't help but feel like this had all been organised without either of them knowing about it.

'Don't you be fretting, you'll see yer lass tonight' boomed Carl, who had now tightened his grip on his shoulder. 'Now you come with me and the rest of the boys and we'll get yer all ready for yer lil woman'

Chrno gave Marle a helpless sort of look and allowed Carl to nudge him in the direction of the door. 'Ok then' he conceded, wondering to himself how his best friend was feeling right now. Tonight was sure to be interesting, curiously enough the last thing on his mind was their mission, those thoughts were taking a backseat for the day it seemed.

To Be Continued….

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I apologise for the rushed end to this chapter. I am months overdue for this and I really wanted to get it finished. Not a whole lot happened, but stuff that seems kinda out of place will come together later I promise! I really appreciate the reviews you've all given me so far so please tell me your thoughts on this. The next chapter I promise to be an exciting one!

**Next Chapter – A Little Less Conversation…** The Festival has begun, what starts out as an awkward night turns into a night of drinking and celebration, that is until some of the village women start making eyes at Chrno. The green-eyed monster rears its ugly head in Rosette!


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